Author Interview: Grace Hitchcock + giveaway

Happy Friday, everyone! Cannot believe this is the last day of August … kind of makes me sad. But! I’m so glad to be able to introduce this month’s author interview and book giveaway! My good friend Grace Hitchcock (along with other wonderful author friends) have recently launched a new Southern Belle Brides collection from Barbour!! Grace is also gracious and giving away a signed copy of her latest story!

~ The Southern Belle Brides Collection ~

Miss Beaumont’s Companion by Grace Hitchcock
Baton Rouge, Louisiana—1892
When lady’s companion Aria St. Angelo is coerced into posing as her political employer’s absent daughter for the evening at the Louisiana Governor’s masquerade ball, she wasn’t planning on falling for Byron Roderick, the most eligible bachelor in the capitol.

~ Blurb ~

In the Old South, hospitality is king—and charm is queen! Using grace and gumption, seven determined women face chaotic life challenges on the way to personal peace and lasting love—from the 1850s marriage market to the 1918 flu epidemic. Will each bride eventually discover a safe place to call her own—and a husband to love?

~ Without further ado, the author interview ~

I love the mentions of all the books in your novel. Out of all of them, which one is your favorite and why?

Hi, Tisha, thank you for having me here! It’s so hard to pick, but as a young child, I would watch the BBC’s productions on practically all of the Charles Dickens works and Little Dorrit was one of my favorites. While I’ve never sat down and read that exact work of his, I felt that since I’ve read Dickens and watched Little Dorrit so many times, it would be fun to add it into a story that my heroine liked that book too!

So fun to see your characters enjoying coffee at a local coffee house. I know you prefer tea, so how easy was it to write about your characters enjoying coffee instead of tea? Did it make you cringe?

While I love a good cup (or three) of tea, I have to start my morning off with a steaming cup of café au lait, especially with having a baby. When I wrote those scenes, I usually had my morning cup in hand, but tea is my favorite go to hot beverage for the rest of my writing sessions and reading.

Mister Rodrick wears spectacles and Mildred shows her disdain. Was there a particular view against men wearing spectacles during this time and why would the ladies find this distasteful?

Mildred’s distaste stems more for her love for another man rather than a view point. In my research for the novella, I didn’t find a specific view on spectacles, but I’ve read in quite a few novels where glasses acted as a deterrent for the heroines, so I wanted to write a story where the glasses actually attracted the heroine, Aria, to the hero, Byron.

Why is Byron interested in law work? What drove him to decide that as his career?

Byron’s compassion for people drove him to excel in his law practice to help others and his father thought that it would be an easy transition for his son into the political realm. Byron’s vocation was inspired by my older brother, who is a lawyer and worked a lot of cases in the capitol of Baton Rouge. I had fun calling my brother up several times in the writing of the story to ensure that all of my law scenes/phrases were accurate.

Where did you get your inspiration for Aria marrying above her social class? Dickens or Jane Austen?

Jane Austen! Even though Aria is poor, she hails from a distant noble heritage, similar to Sense and Sensibility’s heroines. I love all of Jane Austen’s works and enjoy reading Austen influenced books. The heroine in my debut novel that releases in March, The White City, will be strongly influenced by Austen’s Northanger Abbey’s heroine.

Thank you so much, Grace, for sharing the day with us! Reading your story from The Southern Belle Brides was an adorable, compelling read. Can’t wait to read the other stories as well!

I remember reading Great Expectations in school and loving it. I loved to read as a child and I appreciated being exposed to literary greats and their works.
I love Grace Hitchcock’s writing! I’m so excited for her upcoming books! Thank you for sharing this interview! Congratulations Grace! Keep writing!

Thanks so much for stopping by, Susan!! I enjoyed the mystery and intrigue of Great Expectations, although I thought Miss Haversham was very strange. Yes! Grace has such delicate beauty in her writing!!